Lee County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Michael Zazwirsky was recognized September 19, 2015 at the S
econd Annual Law and Order Ball, held at Harborside Event Center in Fort Myers as Law Enforcement Officer of the Year 2015. The event, organized by Rotary Club of Fort Myers South honors law enforcement officers from across Lee County who went above and beyond.
Zazwirsky has spent the past eight years in the North District, where he has worked as a patrol deputy, detective, juvenile arrest and monitoring deputy, and a community policing deputy. He was selected from five finalists to receive the award. Other finalists included: Deputy Christopher Meyer and Staff Officer Darryl Aubuchon of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, as well as Cape Coral Police Detective Patricia Enterline and Fort Myers Police Officer Dave Conticelli.
Nominated by his commanding officer Capt. Christopher Reeves, Zazwirsky’s accomplishments in the North District range from creating a program to crack down on juvenile offenders to organizing community events, like a holiday food drive in North Fort Myers. The program he created is a database of youth on probation in the area that all deputies can access. It also set into motion continual monitoring of the juvenile offenders by all deputies in the district. Instead of one officer checking on a youth, every shift has access, and checks on them.
“In the first couple of months, our juvenile crime had dropped about 27 percent,” Zazwirsky said. “They were a huge portion of our crime in our overall district.”
During the holiday season last year, Zazwirsky organized the Fighting Holiday Hunger event, which featured live music and family-friendly activities. Admission was a can of food or donation to those in need. Approximately 2,000 people attended the event, and more than 10,000 cans of food and 2,000 pounds of dry food were collected, with an additional $3,000 donated. Approximately 2,700 families in the area benefited from the food drive.
The annual Law and Order Ball draws more than 400 dignitaries, law enforcement representatives, business owners and residents, and raises funds for community grants distributed through Rotary Club of South Fort Myers. A generous portion of the proceeds from the event also goes to each participating law enforcement agency to support their youth outreach programs.
Rotary Club of Fort Myers South is grateful to the generous sponsors who made the 2015 event possible, including Creighton Construction & Development along with Ada’s Natural Market graciously returned as the Title Sponsor for the Law and Order Ball; as well as LeeSar, Survival Armor, The Fort Myers News-Press, Edison National Bank, CONRIC PR & Marketing | Publishing, The Eventful Company, Enterprise Holdings, NBC-2, Siesta Pebble Inc., Haven, CFS Roofing, FineMark Bank, Florida Gulf Coast University, HBKS Wealth Advisors, The Huff Insurance Agency, Jason’s Deli, Kagan Law Firm, Mark Loren Designs, Rapid Print, Southern Wine and Spirits, TOTI Media, UBS, Wicked Dolphin, PepsiCo, Fort Myers Police Department and Armor Correctional Health.